When Protecting Someone
by citatsce
Summary: Ryoma was just a pretty damn good tennis player who led a normal life. But after hearing about feather-shaped memories, talking pork buns, and a scream he probably would never have heard from Oishi… Life just didn’t seem to be so cheerful anymore.
1. Part I

**Title: **When Protecting Someone [Part I]

**Words: **7,272

The summary is a excerpt of this fan fiction, but it is an edited version (due to FanFiction . net's rules for limited summaries).

**Authoress: **The Wonderful K. Muffin

**Rating: **'T+' for violence, cursing, and suggestive themes.

**Warning: **Mentioned Yuuta/Mizuki. _Once._ Golden Pair if you glued your face to the screen. And broke your nose.

**[Suspense/Drama]**

Edit: Some of you may be wondering why this is shown up again (my original update was on Christmas '08), it is because I edited this. I also have split this into two parts, since the size is roughly about 14,000 words total. I'll upload part two next week.

_A/N: There are spoilers starting after volume sixteen for Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRONiCLE, but the story starts after volume seventeen (after they leave the country, everything will go AU from there on out). Most sections in the fan fiction relate and foreshadow _big spoilers_ in TRC from volume 18+. I told you this so you won't feel that the end was incomplete, because some aspects (like the secrets Sakura and Fai keeps, their motives, etc.) are not revealed in this fic._

_Final words, I use different names to call people when not in dialogue, _switchingbetween last names and first names_, using specific names that are most comfortable when going through the text. I call Fuji Syuusuke 'Fuji' because most call him Fuji, Fuji Yuuta 'Yuuta', Fuji Yumiko 'Yumiko'. TRC characters are first names; and rest of PoT is their family names (except Ryoma). I hope you aren't disturbed by this, thanks much._

_This fic is dedicated to Ryoma and all the Prince of Tennis characters, happy late birthday Ryoma, and Merry Christmas._

I own neither 'The Prince of Tennis' nor 'Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRONiCLE'. All rights go to CLAMP and Konomi Takeshi, only this plot is mine (I don't think this is really necessary, don't they know this is FANfiction website?).

**When Protecting Someone **[Part I]

--

_Why do you protect?_

_Do you do it to show love?_

…_Or is it because…_

_--_

A firm hand settled on her shoulder, the tight grip was supportive. Already knowing who he was, she took a glimpse at the towering figure. His mangled hair and tired eyes did not fool her; she knew he could keep on going for countless miles. On the road that wasn't sleek and smooth. Her road. The positive emotion that welled up inside her confused the worn out feelings she kept in a hidden box: he was different person than the boy she had been with for months. Yet…why does _he _show so much resemblance of _him? _A sigh escaped her lips, every inch of her body ached; it was going to be a restless night.

"Don't worry about Fai-san," Syaoran said with a hint of hope, but really wilted at the distance she was giving him. He wasn't even sure he could see her beyond the horizon anymore as the gap continued to get bigger, and all he could do was watch as she proceeded to walk away. "…he'll… be alright with Kamui-san's blood." The smile was back on; it seemed to her that both Fai and Syaoran were hiding their grief behind their reassurance. But then again, it wasn't like her feelings weren't out in the open either.

The acid rain beat down on the floor in a quiet rhythm. Even though both Syaoran and Sakura knew Fai's loss of his eye wasn't the reason she was tense, the scene played simple: she nodded and he stayed quiet. Their relationship advanced into emptiness.

"…I'm sorry," with those final words, he left.

The sentence repeated like a thought. Eyelids slid over her dusty green orbs and she buried herself in her arms once a concluding _thud _ended.

"No, Syaoran, _I'm _sorry."

Everything is so confusing.

Who am I?

What are my _real_ intentions?

--

**Seishun Gakuen: Tennis Practice 4:30 PM **

Tennis shoes shifted left to right, the squeaking of friction was a constant soundtrack in the background.

"Nya! Fujiko-chan!" The day just won't be the same without a flurry of bouncy redness flying at you, does it? The latter did not fall over as expected, he chuckled.

"Saa, Eiji, what happened?" Fuji Syuusuke glanced at the red head who sobbed while hugging him at the same time, a little bit uncomfortable to the Tensai. Just a little bit.

"Te-Tezuka-buchou is being_ really_ mean to me! He made me run laps…again! And he told me that _during_ school! _Before_ practice-nya!" Dark blue eyes watered and searched for comfort as his mouth tightened and the hug started to ease the oxygen out of Fuji's lungs, not that he was slowly dying in the less-than-bouncy friend's grasp, this was a regular routine he quickly got accustomed to. "Eiji, you're in 9th grade! Be a model for our Kouhais alright? Besides, you don't usually cry so easily," a slight frown.

"It's because Oishi isn't here isn't it?" Smack right in the middle, sometimes Kikumaru didn't like it when his friend was direct to the point. He paused before bawling once again in different arms, which was Echizen Ryoma― who wasn't exactly happy of having a sempai soiling his fresh-out-of-the-laundry Regulars jacket…but it wasn't like Ryoma cared about tiny little riff-raffs. He _is_ a simple-minded 7th grader after all.

"O'chibi! Can you believe it? Fuji's being cruel to me also!" Ryoma flashed an unpleasant look at Fuji, who shrugged, smiling all the while.

"Kikumaru-sempai…let go of me." Kikumaru again felt the rejection from his teammates and sulked away to start his laps; feet dragging against the ground with a small, tiny _"Nya…" _Ryoma had an urge to roll his eyes.

Then his vision met black, he yelped and pulled his cap back up again and glared at his sempai.

Momoshirou Takeshi took off his Fila cap and ruffled his hair (an action that Ryoma detested). "You're just so adorable aren't you Echizen? However, being so mean to Kikumaru-sempai is just too rude to be ignored." At this, Ryoma opened his mouth to protest in a very Echizenly way until Kaidoh Kaoru beat him to the finish line, no surprise there.

"Peach-idiot," he growled in a threatening stance. Momo perked up his ears on the insult and met it with a not so peachy smile. "What. Did. You. _Say_?" Anger sparked in both of their eyes, their hold on their rackets stiffened. Clear signs to another fight and without Oishi to stop them. Even in the distance Inui slashed another tally mark in his book.

"Momoshirou! Kaidoh!" A sharp yell pierced through the thick aura. Momo and Kaidoh snapped out of their forming battle, turned around, and bowed. "S-sorry buchou." Tezuka stepped into the unfolding scene and was _already _intimidated, which was unusual, after all, Tezuka Kunimitsu was not a type of person to show much of his emotions. "Kikumaru! Faster on your laps!" "Y-yes buchou!"

Fuji couldn't help but observe the situation; something was definitely wrong here. He tapped Tezuka's shoulder lightly, just enough for Tezuka to jolt slightly and turn around.

"Tezuka, what happened? It isn't like you to be so late to practice." The response from him was silence.

Fuji waited until he saw ―just a flicker― of fear and concern in the deep brown eyes.

…_something did happen. Who is it?_ Fuji pondered while Tezuka closed his eyes and bitterly replayed the memory, as if to remind himself or the strange event.

---

_A woman with silky hair that almost touched the ground was gazing at him in a café. A boy with a high school uniform near her looked nervously at the captain also. The woman's eyes scanned him, eyes that looked all too familiar, and spoke to him in a cold voice._

"_Warn your friends, someone is coming."_

_He didn't know if the statement was directed towards him or not, but he could still feel a shiver run up his spine. _

---

"It's nothing, Fuji," Tezuka said in a dead tone, a weak attempt to shake him off, no need to worry anyone, right? Right. "Go back to practice." However, Fuji did not let down so easily and stared at the captain one more time before he walked off.

While this entire curious event was occurring, Ryoma was watching from behind.

--

**After tennis practice: 5:32 PM**

"Oishi~!" Kikumaru spun around and clutched the mentioned hand. "Come with me! Come with me!"

Oishi Syuuichiro, the mother hen, smiled at Kikumaru's energy. "Eiji, what happened during practice? I'm _really_ sorry, a teacher needed me." Kikumaru bounced and grinned stupidly to prove that nothing too bad happened.

"Not much, Tezuka-buchou told me to do laps, and Fuji and o'chibi were extra mean to me today, but everything's all okay! Nya, Oishi, you're moving so slowly, catch up with me." Oishi laughed and tripled his pace. "Eiji, where are we going anyway?"

"Fujiko's house, he left his homework," Kikumaru suddenly sounded upset, energy gradually slipping away. "Oishi, do you think Fuji's okay? He's been…out of it lately after practice, I don't know what's going on, nya…" The immediate change in tone made Oishi furrow his brows. "I don't know, want to ask when we get there?" The redhead beamed and started jumping once again. "Yep! You always know what to do!" Oishi couldn't help but notice how enlightened Eiji looked when he was happy and nodded. Anything to help out his friend.

They reached the wanted house and shivered at the fall weather. Of course, Kikumaru was the once who knocked on the door first in rapid tempo, he seemed to be having fun knocking on the door so fast that Oishi had to stop him.

A tall lady in mid-twenties gracefully stepped out with golden brown hair that flowed over her shoulders. "Yes?" A sweet melody, Momoshirou would've dropped dead at the sight.

Even Oishi was awed at her beauty along with his friend, who managed to stutter. "A-are you Fuji's…g-girl―?" Oishi clapped a hand over his mouth.

The woman looked surprised. "Ah, Syuusuke's friends? Nice to meet you, I'm his sister." They politely shook hands and the woman proceeded to call up the stairs. "Syuusuke! Your friends are here!" Heavy steps stomped and out came Fuji, but not the one they wanted.

Yuuta walked to the doorway and greeted the both of them (_He looks a little distraught though,_ _I wonder if Fuji was being mean to Mizuki-san again, _the Mother of Seigaku wondered sadly), then turned towards his sister. "Nee-san. Aniki just left, remember?" Suddenly azure orbs shot open and stabbed into Yuuta's own confused eyes. "_What?" _

"Nee-san, you didn't notice? W-wait…" The younger Fuji looked at the ebony table with scattered cards. "Your Tarot cards, did something―?" A look at a single card on the table made Yuuta's eyes go even wider.

"Oh, sh―!"

"_Yuuta_!"

"Fuji-san?!" Oishi yelled at the running boy.

Fuji's older sister trembled, slowly recovering. Rotating on her heel, she made Kikumaru and Oishi look directly at her. "You, I need you to do something for me, now." The tone was far from lovely; it matched the one their teammate used in the match against Kirihara.

Uh oh.

This wasn't good.

--

**Around the Rikkai Dai Univ.: 6:27 PM**

Marui popped the enormous bubble he was blowing, tennis practice was over along time ago, and all he was interested in was how Jackal's bald head looked through the transparent pink material. "Fukubuchou did some harsh training on us right?" Rikkai's genius was troubled; he didn't know why he was hanging out with his other teammates. He was a _Tensai _for goodness' sake! He may not match the wondrous Fuji Syuusuke's skills, but it was quite certain the Akutagawa Jiroh favored _him _more. A long, heavy sigh drawled out from his lips. Really, he could give for just some food right now…

"Damn. I really wanted to play that new video game! But _no_, I'm just stuck with you guys! _Damn!_" A snarl from the infamous Kirihara Akaya, who had just as much fun as Marui.

Niou tsk'ed with his finger on Kirihara's lips. Which shut him right up, thank God, he _was _getting on everybody's nerves. "Yukimura-buchou was the one that told us to go together, if he heard you right now…" Marui stopped himself from making a genius'y remark that Niou too wasn't so happy about going home with _'a bunch of weird ballerinas'. _Marui seemed to recall the insult from him clearly when Niou stuck thumbtacks on their seats and for whole five minutes the class was jumping up and down.

At the moment Yukimura's name was mentioned, Kirihara pouted. Their beloved buchou's name always did the trick. Always.

"Niou," Yagyuu said with an air of crispiness and politeness around him. "He is going to bite your finger off."

Marui would've liked to see some excitement with lots of blood, but Niou moved his finger at a blazing speed. Kirihara snarled once again and kept quiet.

Jackal, who was completely ignoring all this _nonsense, _pointed to a lone person wandering around in the area. "Isn't that Fuji from Seishun Gakuen?" Marui's bubble snapped and he had to squint to see through his long red bangs. "Yep, that's him. What the hell is he doing?" The trickster shrugged, using Kirihara as an arm rest (he was shoved off immediately). The incomplete Rikkai Dai team (Yanagi, Sanada, and Yukimura were still at school) disregarded the fact that the Seigaku member was ever there. Until Yagyuu burst out, "Wait. _What―!?"  
_

--

Fuji strolled through the streets, contemplating on Tezuka's weird reactions. If someone else was in Fuji's shoes, they would brush the matter off and continued with their lives, but this was Fuji here, and he knew something was abnormal.

---

"_Nee-san," an elementary Fuji Syuusuke caught the attention of his sister, who was moving around her Tarot cards. "Nee-san, is there someone else who's more powerful than you?" Fuji Yumiko laughed and nodded. "Yes, she's very strong, stronger than the entire Fuji family all together." The young Fuji nodded, knowing very well the blood that runs through their veins._

"_Will I ever meet her?" The expression on Yumiko's face turned solemn._

"_It's never bad when you first meet her, but God― please Syuusuke; I hope you never will."_

---

After that brief conversation, the topic was never brought up again. However it still bothered him, what if Tezuka met her? What will that bring? As more questions brought up in his head, the more he wanted to meet her. _I should just go to the courts and practice; I should get this whole thing out of my mind. _

He didn't even know why he was so irritated in the first place.

"WATCH OUT!"

In that instant, Fuji felt the air knocked out of his lungs and immense pressure on his whole body, pain erupted when his head hit the concrete, he wasn't even sure if he hit the ground at all.

Before he closed his eyes, something, no _someone _was standing a few yards away. Watching.

--

"Damn it, aniki…" Yuuta muttered. "Where are you?" He took a big deep breath before running at full speed again, almost suddenly he was tired. He had been looking for his older brother for almost a full hour after he looked atthe card. He gritted his teeth and sat down, cradling his head in his hands. Why did this have to happen? _Why?_

A flash of the card appeared in his mind. _The Fortune card_… he held his breath. _Nee-san always said that it represented _that_ woman, and that it also represented danger. Is aniki in danger? No, is the whole Seigaku group in danger? _He breathed before looking up at the sky, he never mentioned it, but he had always cared for his brother, no matter how many times he had beaten him in matches or teased him. _Last night…I remember nee-san talking about a feather in …_

"Oh no!" a feminine voice gasped out loud. Yuuta straightened his back and stayed still.

"Kuro-tan, look what you did!" Another voice, a small girl? No, too squeaky…

"Shut up! It's your fault you landed us _here!_" Deep, like a growl, just _who _are these people?

"This isn't good, there's blood on the side of his head…" Yuuta kept his ears sharp on this sentence, blood?

"I didn't collect medicine from them, what do we do? Wait…this place…"

"Puu! Yes, this is it! This is Yuuko's city! We're in Japan! We got the right location!" Wait a minute, where did they comefrom? How did they know Japanese so fluently? Yuuta was beginning to get more concerned; he was about to confront these noisy people until a sharp voice halted his movements.

"Damn it! We're back here again?! Are you sure there's a feather in this place?"

"Wait, before we do that, we have to help this man, it looks like he's wearing a school jersey…" Yuuta's eyes widened. _Aniki!_

In that split second, Yuuta dashed to the sound of the voices and skidded right in front of them. The sight paralyzed him. They were obviously _not_ from Japan. They wore colorful capes and wielded swords. The stuffed animal perched on a girl's shoulder was not helping Yuuta's confusion either. A young man stepped out and blocked the group; his dark coffee-colored hair did not shield his burning eyes. "Who are you?" The biggest of the set readied his sword while the slim one with the eye patch protected the girl with the honey-brown hair, who was holding another boy with a Seigaku jersey…and had dark blood spilling on the cream white concrete…

"_Aniki_!" Yuuta rushed forward, a glare of silver and a cold blade touched his throat and a small "Kurogane?!" came from the group. The St. Rudolph tennis member was afraid to gulp. If he only had his tennis racket, or his cell phone, or Mizuki― or whatever! "Kurogane!" the stuffed animal (what was going _on _in this world?!) shouted. "Please! He might help us!" The blade was gone as soon it came, and the tennis player fell to his knees gasping.

"Our apologies," the young boy softened his eyes and helped Yuuta up by the hand, who was still hesitant and shocked to still say anything. "We reacted too harshly. Can you please show us where Yuuko-san might be?" All he received was a cold glare and a reply. "I don't freakin' know who the fudge she is." The one with the eye patch then answered with full sincerity. "We're truly sorry about our Kurogane's hostility shown towards you, but please, do you know then a hospital nearby?"

Yuuta finally calmed down, despite the weird company he had and the large thumping in his chest. "Yes, but I doubt you could get in with those strange clothes. You should…stay at my place." _What in the_ _world am I saying? _He screamed to himself. _Aniki may be in grave danger yet I'm taking the ones' responsible in my care?!_

The brown haired boy waited for solid approval from his friends. After the scattered nods, he faced Yuuta again and bowed. "I apologize again; please take us into your hospitality!"

Yuuta didn't like this at all. Not one bit.

--

**Fuji's Residence: 7:03 PM**

"Ah, the sun is going down," Kikumaru announced nervously, twiddling his thumbs. "Its going to be dark soon, where is Yuuta-kun and Fuji-nya?" Oishi eyed Yumiko carefully as she fished out certain things in her purse and pushed them into his hands. "Ano…Fuji-san…why do I need these objects…?" Yumiko shook her head to shush him and motioned him to come closer.

"Use the map to locate a certain place; you'll know what it is. Tell the woman there that you have a wish; I want you to ask her for information of a _Sakura feather_. I placed things you may need to trade for in the bag, I can't come with you but I'm sure you'll manage. Try to come straight back here in one piece. I wish you luck!" She pushed them out the door as Oishi nodded hastily and felt rushed. He pulled Kikumaru with him. _I really hope Fuji and Yuuta-kun are all right…_

"Oishi, where are we going?" Kikumaru asked innocently once they were out the door. Oishi felt very paranoid about the visit to God-knows-where; if only Fuji's sister didn't seem so panicky, then the situation may have been a few degrees lighter. It was only a few blocks they traveled until he felt someone dragging him across the grass. "Eiji!"

"It isn't me! What's going on?!"

They both saw a pathway to a big empty yard with a lonely house; no one was there except them and the thin air of mystery. Their legs continued to move by themselves until they stopped at the porch. Kikumaru hid under his partner's arm when a door slid open, revealing two small little girls. One had sky blue curls that shone in the little light of the porch; the other had thick short pink hair that hugged her petite face. Both, Oishi noticed anxiously, had no light reflected off of their eyes, as if they were dolls. The strange girls clasped their hands together and grinned._ "Welcome! Come on in!"_

Now equally more scared, their bodies walked in on their own again. A slender woman, more beautiful and mysterious than Yumiko, waited by the door with a silvery kimono, her hair up in a wispy bun, dark misty blue orbs peered from underneath half-closed eyelids. "W-who _are_ you?" Oishi asked, and then Kikumaru had started making whimpering noises muffled by the sleeve of his shirt. The woman did not smile; she took out a steaming tea cup and placed it on the table. **"**Sit down.**"** She had an unusual demanding voice.

"Now, shall I grant your wish?**"**

--

Yuuta wanted to hit himself unconscious and then wake up to his a-okay brother's smiling face. No. Scratch that. He wanted to wake up in the St. Rudolph's dorms and maybe occupy himself in severe training, anything better than this nightmare with talking stuffed animals and bizarre men carrying dangerous swords. Maybe he was delirious. Yes, that was probably it.

The night came and long shadows laughed at him as he passed. He had volunteered to carry his brother, who was extremely light, and the absence of noises behind him made him worry. The sandy-haired Fuji took this as a chance to examine his uh…visitors. They were wearing odd clothing that didn't match one or the other. Sakura had short, light-brown hair and had a sturdy gaze that didn't waver as she held the white fur ball apparently called Mokona. She had complete trust in him, he could tell; the startling green that followed him frightened him, to be honest, almost as scary as his older brother's electrifying blue glare that felt like a bucket of cold water. The boy, who introduced himself as Syaoran, was a bit less intimidating than the girl, but also had a determined look despite his scrawny body. Yuuta sighed to himself; all these people were completely serious, he shouldn't have visited nee-san today.

The bulky guy with the sword and the headband (Yuuta bitterly reminded himself; for he still hadn't forgiven his previous actions) was completely edgy and uptight. Kurogane kept on watching the tall and lean Fai next to him, who was less stressed than before, his feathery blond hair, the remaining blue eye, and all the blunt smiles perceived him as unreadable. _Him, _Yuuta mentally noted, _I should keep an eye on._

"We're here," Yuuta cracked a grin, almost running into his own doorway. The door was open and Yumiko stood in front of it, unsurprised and had lack of reaction. "Yumiko?" Mokona piped up quietly. She concurred with a tight smile in response.

"It's been a while, Mokona. So, how is Yuuko-san doing?"

Right there and then, Yuuta snapped his head at the fur-ball. Nee-san. Fur-ball. Nee-san.

"Is something wrong Yuu-chan?"

He took a deep breath.

"_YOU KNOW EACH OTHER?!"_

--

"Please, Yuuko-san," Oishi bowed with his all the respect he could muster. "I have a wish, actually…Fuji-san has a wish." Yuuko waved her hand and another cup of tea was passed to her in a flash. **"**Yes, yes, now, what is it do you want so badly?**"** Magically, Kikumaru was dumbfounded the entire time. Either because of the disturbing cleavage the woman was showing, or the confusion that enveloped him entirely, either way, he wasn't going to help in this situation.

"I need information…about a feather." Yuuko looked at him in amusement.

"Ah, that information I cannot pass.**"**

"May I ask why?" Oishi could feel sweat going down the side of his head, his hands became cold.

She closed her eyes and opened them again with the same level of seriousness. **"**This information…is not tradable. I believe I already warned your captain.**"**

"T-Tezuka?"

Yuuko already stood up and guided them towards the door, she did not look at them. **"**I cannot say what you need, but I can tell you this, be careful.**"**

The sliding door was shut, and they were back on the street.

--

"Nya," Kikumaru gasped, finally relieved. "I was so tense! Too bad she couldn't say, Oishi, where are you going? We didn't get anything."

"Yes, I know, but I want an explanation from her! What is going on?!" Oishi said, exasperated, thoughts running though his mind painfully.

"O-Oishi?" Kikumaru noticed his change in speed. "I'm sure everything's okay! Fuji-san probably just wanted to know where a special antique item is or something… and maybe Yuuta's friends were visiting over so she couldn't do it herself." They both slowed down and went back to walking.

"I know, but I have this feeling that… never mind," he exhaled, bringing out all his worries is front of him.

"Oishi…"

"_Oishi-sempai?"_

The Golden Pair turned to see Ryoma, dressed in the Seigaku jersey and carrying a red racket. The freshman cocked his head to the side with an eyebrow raised. "You still haven't changed?" The pair looked at their clothes at that comment realizing that they haven't gone home ever since they got out of school, all this chaos about one stupid feather…

"This isn't about Fuji-sempai or about his family, is it?" Kikumaru gasped and locked his hands on the boy's shoulders. "You found him-nya?! Yuuta-kun tried to find him!"

Golden eyes glared at his sempais before reverting to their normal position. Whatever he wanted to say, it disturbed him very much.

"Earlier, it was in this park…"

---

_Ryoma hand trembled and the red frame of his racket almost slid out of his grasp. Fuji's younger brother, Yuuta, was carrying Fuji himself, but that wasn't bothering him. Abnormal people followed him, tall, short, red, blue, brown, they were all different. What were they doing? Yuuta looked so timid he walked right pass Ryoma, who was only a few yards from them. Almost suddenly, there was a cloaked person flash right behind them… _

---

"Huh?! Is Fuji okay? Where were they going?!"

"To Fuji-sempai's house."

Kikumaru hauled both Oishi and Ryoma to the specific direction while Ryoma was reflecting over the scene, many inferences came to his mind, and one issue bothered him.

The cloaked person.

--

Watanuki had just watched the visitors leave, and left shortly after. _They asked for a strange object, and it was very straightforward too, _he thought. _What was this _feather _they spoke of? _He snapped out of his daze as he dodged a giant purple blob that came straight towards him.

_Damn it, forgot that spirits come more often during nights._ He started running towards the opposite direction, trying to keep himself calm, glasses almost threatening to fly off his face with an obscure expression glued on. _They're coming closer, RUN! _Watanuki screamed to himself, why couldn't he ever get used to this?!His body did his bidding and he sped up, not bothering to look back. _This is what I get for working late! _The wind felt cold against his sweaty skin and the presence of the still following spirit was almost breathing on his neck…

"Crap!" Something closed around his windpipe…

…and it was gone, the air returned back to a chilly night; the place now felt empty. Watanuki scrunched up his face in confusion, "What was that?" There were no spirits in sight, in fact, another object overpowered his senses. He looked around frantically, glasses glinting in the moonlight.

He found nothing in the end; gave up and headed straight home. Behind him, there was a sign that said "_Seishun Gakuen"._

--

**Fuji's Residence: 9:07 PM**

The moment he woke up, a wave of throbbing pain smashed into his face, a perfect wake up call. Fuji went off guard and doubled over from the soreness in his head. Someone immediately dabbed his hot forehead with a wet cloth; his head was dizzying faster than Ryoma's split step. Nee-san, he needed to speak to her. He scanned the room slowly and had to find his voice to speak. "Fujiko-chan! Are you okay?!" Kikumaru jumped on him, and for once it actually hurt. Ryoma was cramped in the corner, eyes covered by his cap, but listening. A deep voice growled. "Your brother had us wait until you woke up. Took your time, did you?" Someone foreign, the moment his vision cleared he stared with his eyes open at the strange people crowded around him. In his room. With Kikumaru. Oishi. Ryoma. It was nine-o-clock.

Fuji paused until he saw Yuuta, and his smile slipped back on into place.

"Ah, Yuuta-kun, you're visiting today?" Yuuta smirked, a little tiredly, but it was still there.

"You don't seem surprised at all, aniki. Wait a moment for nee-san to bring tea; hopefully she'll―" he then looked spitefully at the bulky swordsman across him, "―and some other people clear some things up for us." Kikumaru still had his arms around Fuji's neck, and flinched when the white stuffed animal seemed to be looking at him. "Nya, Fuji, these people are scaring me, save me, Oishi!" Ryoma wasn't so chipper either: things have been looking down at him lately, his twist serve was returned on the first try, Karupin had started favoring Momoshiro, and he didn't have any money for Ponta. Now he had to listen to whatever crazy explanation these guys had to say.

"Now, shall we talk?" Yumiko's delicate voice flew into the room. She gracefully slipped through the tight spaces and placed the tray of tea unto Fuji's bed. She glanced coolly at the foreigners. "Why are you here?"

Syaoran sat into a comfortable position. "There is a feather here." In that split second Fuji Syuusuke looked dead serious, he glimpsed at Yuuta, who also had a similar expression. Kikumaru and Oishi were nervous and fidgeting around, otherwise the strangers had calm composures, especially the girl, who only featured had a loose frown. Yumiko was the only one that answered.

"Where."

The one called Kurogane sighed grumpily. "That's the thing, the pork bun only go so far as to telling us the world it's in." Kikumaru gulped, apparently not catching what was going on. _What is so important about this stupid feather?_ Oishi was just as stuck as his partner and was hesitant to ask. "W-what are you guys talking about?" Kurogane was not so happy about the interruption, but Fai motioned Sakura to explain.

"I lost my memories in the form of feathers, and…'Syaoran' took me and went to this world to Yuuko-san. That's when Kurogane and Fai joined us, and then she gave us the power to go to world to world to find these feathers." Although Yumiko knew this wasn't the whole truth, she decided not to pry. "However, that's not your true intention, is it?"

Fai smiled with false sincerity. "You and Yuuko-san are just alike. It seems we can't get around you can we? Well, Syaoran-kun?"

"There's actually another 'Syaoran' that's going around doing anything to get these feathers, killing anyone, anything."

"_What?!"_

Oishi gasped, eyes almost falling out of their sockets, even Ryoma was on the edge of standing up, the unexplainable event flashed in his head while Oishi recalled the meeting. "If the feather is truly here in Japan… then…what Yuuko-san said…"

---

"_I cannot say what you need, but I can tell you this, be careful."_

---

…_there was a cloaked person flash right behind them…_

_---_

Mokona twittered, tiny paws on Sakura's shoulders. "Yuuko? You met her? What'd she say?!" Fuji and Yuuta both reacted to the comment. "Oishi?" The fukubuchou was speechless at the sudden fierceness, stammering incoherent things until Yumiko saved the day. "I made these two go to her to ask her where the feather is. Unfortunately she cannot reveal that information."

"Damn," Kurogane gritted his teeth and brought his fist to the ground. Syaoran was silent, and Sakura's face did not change, instead, she replied with a stern tone. "It's useless to go to Yuuko-san now, but you knew about the feather before we even came, you probably also can guess where it is at this very moment."

Yuuta jaw dropped, "Nee-san, is it true…?"

Yumiko dropped her smiling façade. "Yes, I have an idea, but now that I have more information, maybe I should…" She cut herself off and returned with neatly stacked cards.

The more she drew cards, the more she grew pale, and the more Oishi was worrying. Mokona was peering over and even Kurogane was entirely engrossed into the process.

"I was correct," she whispered.

"_It's in Seigaku."_

--

**Yagyuu's Residence: 9:14 PM**

Yagyuu picked up the phone, hesitated, and put it back down on its receiver. It had been ages since the group split up and went back home. The incident shocked him, the moment he blinked, Fuji was on the ground and people that magically appeared crowded him. This was at least a hundred yards away. After he had gasped, all the attention was brought unto him, he regained his ground and managed to convince everyone that it was something else. Niou was suspicious and unusually concerned and even Kirihara asked with a hint of fear. He pushed it all to the back of his mind.

Yes, that was ages ago.

Yagyuu shuffled his papers and stared at the phone. For the past ten minutes, he had been considering to call someone about this. It was a silly thing, after all, who would believe him? It wasn't _that_ important anyway. Niou would laugh his crooked laugh, Marui would pop his gum while gloating his Tensai-thoughts on the situation, Yanagi would think therewas a _97.34% chance _that he was delusional, Sanada would simply yell at him for staining Rikkai Dai's image of _ever _thinking about this, and Kirihara. Hell no.

Yukimura…maybe their buchou would have some sense, probably even Jackal.

Yagyuu gave up and picked up the phone again, finally dialing.

"_bzzt… __Hello? Yagyuu-san? You aren't here to confess what Niou did again, right?" _A slight chuckle.

Yagyuu massaged his temples, a headache. "No, Yukimura-san, there's…something I need to tell you."

A black shadow in a deserted school a few miles away chuckled to himself.

'_Finally, its almost time.'_

--

**Fuji's Residence: 9:15 PM**

Ryoma was a damn good tennis player; otherwise he had a normal life, lots of Ponta, and, well, a normal life. After hearing about moving from world to world, memories in a form of feathers, a murderer, talking pork buns, Tarot cards, and a scream he probably would never have heard from Oishi…

Life just didn't seem to be so cheerful anymore. He blamed Momoshiro: it always seemed to be _his_ fault.

"NYA?! WHAT THE―!?" Eiji was yelling at a high pitch tone, maybe going several octaves above the staff. "_Seigaku? But how?!"_

Fai had his chin on his hands, a blue eye facing ahead. "In a public school is extremely dangerous, if 'Syaoran' showed up there…more than one person will die."

Yuuta finally had enough of this; he clenched his fists and stood up. Fuji was in deep thought, ignoring the stabbing needles that seem to create dizzying effects. Oishi was far from giving up, "We have to go there now, if we reach the feather before 'Syaoran'― " The real Syaoran stopped him. "No, it is our responsibility, bringing you in the fight will not benefit, please." Yumiko shook her head. "Not at this hour, in the night, spirits are stronger and may get in the way, its best to do it tomorrow afternoon."

Kikumaru twitched and created hand gestures. "But if everyone will still be at school, it's not good!" Fuji brought up his best smile, trying to comfort the hyperventilating teammate, maybe everyone else too. "Then, the Seigaku Regulars will do our best to evacuate the school."

"F-Fuji, are you going to tell everyone?"

"No, only the third year Regulars, we'll make an excuse to the Principal to convince everyone else."

Yuuta, who was on the top of his patience the whole time, finally spoke out, "I-I'll skip school and going with you. It's okay, Haji―Mizuki will understand!" Syaoran bowed with utmost politeness. "Thank you so much!" The oldest Fujis beamed, Kurogane did a low 'hmph' and Fai put a comforting arm around Sakura, who looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Yuuta yawned, laying out of his uncertainties and banishing them; he stretched his arms. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll sleep here…" Syaoran blinked, _'Of course! Where would we sleep?'_

As if Yumiko was reading his mind, she guided the group down out of Fuji's bedroom. "Go settle yourselves tonight, I'll bring extra blankets and try to provide clothing so you won't look out of the picture tomorrow." Kurogane muttered a tiny '_thanks'_, and moved himself into a stiff sitting position. Syaoran looked longingly at Sakura, who was already fast asleep, and stroked her soft hair, smiling, and Yuuta wondered if it was possible to smile so sorrowfully.

--

"Um…Fuji…?" Kikumaru twiddled his fingers. "Can Oishi and I…?" Fuji nodded without asking why, he made extra room on his floor. "You can share the bed if you want, today must be really stressful for you. Sorry nee-san and I brought you into this…" He paused. "Tezuka probably will send us running on laps if we told him. He might think we're crazy." He suppressed a chuckle.

"Y-yeah, maybe, I don't like running laps though! Always another chance for Inui and his juices," Kikumaru shivered. "Thanks a bunch, Fuji! To be honest, it makes my life just a little bit more excited!"

Once Oishi and Kikumaru settled in, there was one person left to ask.

"Echizen," the grinning boy turned towards the freshman. Ah, so he wasn't forgotten. "Want to stay?" Ryoma, who had been contemplating on the shocking news in the small corner, murmured. "I'll need to call mom…"

No matter how much confidence was put in the plan they created, Ryoma knew, for sure, that tomorrow was going to go terribly, horribly wrong.

--

_Falling, I'm dreaming of falling._

_Where am I?_

_Why am I here?_

_Yes, to protect…_

_But to protect what?_

--

**6:39 AM**

Kikumaru always had a noisy morning. First, his day would start off with a yell from his older sister. He would wake up groggily and know his way around blindly to the bathroom. The thumping of feet was the regular rhythm, and the chimed calls of his siblings leaving became the mental clock. Yes, no need for an alarm, his family's clamor was all Kikumaru needed. Today was an exception.

A gentle push awoke him this time. He yawned; small tears glinted in the corners of his dark blue eyes. "Good morning, nya," he mumbled, dragging his feet across the floor, then…

_SLAM!_

"O-ow…" Kikumaru fell back, last time he noticed; there was not a wall there.

"Mada mada dane, Kikumaru-sempai."

Wait. O'chibi was here. How'd he know where he lived? Everything was so quiet too. No way! Did O'chibi kidnapped―!

"Eiji, you okay?" Oishi's voice. Did he get drunk drinking grape juice again? Kikumaru blinked, still dazed by the morning time with his mind processing slowly. "…Wha…?" Different room, o'chibi, different pajamas, and when did he sleep on a bed with Oishi? "Maa, Eiji, are you still drowsy?" So Fuji was also in this dream, weird. There weren't this many friends in his dreams before, they were usually about cakes and kitties. And Oishi. "Eiji." If this _is _a dream, how come Fuji's melodic voice is so painfully clear?

"Puu!"

"ARGH!"

A white, fluffy ball of God-knows-what jumped on Kikumaru's face (and a loud "_CAN YOU GUYS BE QUIET?!" _from Yuuta), that's when everything fast forwarded, his eyes widened. "Right! The feather and everything…!" Ryoma grinned, sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed. Oishi squirmed around on the sheet, looking distressed and apparently was recently talking about the exact scenario. "F-Fuji, about that, are you sure you want to do this? Its so dangerous, someone's life could be in danger!" All he received was a Fuji smile. Typical.

"Don't worry about it; we have our strong guests, right?" He pushed open the door and Syaoran stood there with a tray and cookies.

"Ah! I'm so sorry to be eavesdropping!" He bowed again and again, nervous. Fai and Kurogane stumbled in also with a late greeting.

"Good morning everybody~!" Fai sang, dressed neatly in casual clothes, a black thin jacket and jeans. "All this feather frenzy here will be done with quickly." Kurogane then said with a hint of confidence, "Then we'll get the hell out of this place." Kikumaru nodded, "We can do it, right Oishi? Golden Pair Power!" Fai beamed, ("Maa, Kuro-tan, let's be the 'Golden Pair' too! The idea is so adorable." "Not until Hell freezes over, idiot.").

Mokona jumped around in large circles. "Syaoran, where's Sakura-chan?" He laughed and plucked the creature up from the ground, "She's sleeping right now; we assigned her to go to Yuuko's in case anything happens, make sure you take care of her okay?" A happy chirp, "Yep!"

Oishi glanced at the clock. "We have to get ready quickly in time for tennis practice, Tezuka won't be happy if four of his Regulars are late!"

Fai tilted his head and question marks swirled around Syaoran and Kurogane also, "Tennis? Some kind of fighting technique?"

"…ha-ha…sure?"

--

The morning was enjoyable, and they had decided that they would look for the feather, get the students out as soon as possible, give it back, and they leave this world. If 'Syaoran' comes, they will signal Fai by cell phone and will rush over quickly (though Oishi uneasily mentioned that he hoped they _do _know how to use a cell phone). Simple plan, they had no idea how strong this guy was, but with a bit of luck the whole thing would end cleanly. However something told Fuji that it wasn't going to, and Fuji was not a person to doubt anything, that was Oishi's job and his job alone.

"Aniki…are you okay?" Yuuta noticed the tension inside his brother; a mask was put on the moment the sentence ended.

"Of course, Yuuta-chan," he smiled; beautiful features on his pale face. "Oh, and are you still going out with that Mitsuki-san?"

"_Aniki! _It's **Mizuki. **For God's sake, stop teasing him!"

"Aw, but, Yuu-chan, I'm teasing you, look, your face is all red." Yuuta weakly glanced at the Golden Pair and Ryoma for help, when they merely edged away from him, the younger Fuji gave up.

"Argh!" Yuuta went to the other side of the walking group, face still flushed.

--

Syaoran was feeling restless, Kurogane paced across the hallways and Fai stared out of the window. Sakura was already up and sat in a chair. All of them were quiet as Yumiko stacked her Tarot cards. "Good readings?" Mokona peeped, Yumiko turned dark. "Today is very cloudy, even I do get something, I'm not even sure if it's accurate." Fai nodded, "Thank you for all your help, Fuji-san. If you'll excuse me, I'll step outside for some fresh air." He didn't give so much a parting look as he closed the door.

Sakura had a peaceful expression washed over her face as she looked at the picture frames hooked unto the wall. _Memories… _A hand brushed over a picture with the Seigaku Regulars on a hill, backs blocking a sunset, her eyes turned thoughtful. Syaoran and Mokona also took interest in the picture.

"Puu! Look at that, Fuji-kun has the same smile as Fai; they're really probably similar, right?"

Syaoran inspected the photo carefully. "No, I can tell they are both very different. Fuji doesn't like to show his weaknesses, same thing with him," his finger touched the small figure of Tezuka, "and him." Ryoma. "It seems that he does not have any interest in anything, but he has a strong side that wants to protect. However even though Fai and Fuji share same characteristics… Fai…"

"…is completely hidden and always so reckless," Kurogane added.

"…Protect…" Sakura closed her green eyes, honey-colored hair caressing her face.

"You, yourself, is very strong too," Yumiko grinned as Syaoran returned it weakly.

"Yes!" Mokona pounced. "I bet 'Syaoran' couldn't find that out from just a picture!" The comment made him smile more.

All these words were inaudible to her now, after the dream, all she could think of was a frowning blond young man, eyes full of sorrow, and an adolescent teenager, different colored eyes, blank expression, and blood all over the ground.

'_Syaoran'…_

-end of Part I-


	2. Part II

**Title: **When Protecting Someone [Part II]

**Words: **6,281

**Authoress: **The Wonderful K. Muffin

**Rating: **'T+' for violence, cursing, and suggestive themes.

**Warning: **Mentioned Yuuta/Mizuki. _Once._ Golden Pair if you glued your face to the screen. And broke your nose.

**[Suspense/Drama]**

_A/N: Here is the final part to the fan fiction, hope you enjoyed this!_

**When Protecting Someone **[Part II]

--

**Seishun Gakuen: Morning Tennis Practice 6:53 AM **

Yukimura Seiichi was certainly agitated, after last night's call from Yagyuu, he became troubled. It all happened during his dinner with Genichirou and Renji, they asked him who it was, but Yukimura managed to shrug them off.

Now he was standing in front of the gates of Seishun Gakuen.

Then _that _happened, the whole tennis club was hysterical. Yukimura was then asked to tell everyone else, at first, he was puzzled at their strange behavior. Even though it was out of the ordinary, it wasn't something to panic over. His next thought was: what if it connected to Yagyuu's call? No way, it was all a coincidence.

"_**There is no such thing as coincidence, there is only the inevitable."**_

_Then _there was that voice, which even chilled Rikkai Dai's adored buchou.

"Yukimura-san?" It was Fuji, his younger brother, Kikumaru, Oishi, and Echizen. "What are you doing here?"

"Have Tezuka said anything to you guys since you left practice yesterday?" His wariness was rising to its peak, the Seigaku members (including Yuuta) blinked at each other at the sudden change of subject.

Kikumaru shrugged. "No, except the usual '_yudan sezu ni ikou'._"

"Are you okay Yukimura-san? You don't look very well, why are you standing out here?" Oishi questioned, not looking too well himself. Ryoma pointed over to the tennis courts.

"Oi, isn't that Arai-sempai screaming his head off? Along with Momo-sempai and Kaidou-sempai?"

Fuji opened his electrifying eyes, sensing the bad news. "What is it?"

Yukimura tried to make it all simple, tried to make them all calmed down, even though he needed it as well. His soft voice carried the announcement, stabbing into the heart of things.

"Tezuka is gone. He was right there in the very beginning of practice, then disappeared."

--

Kikumaru Eiji couldn't believe his ears. Buchou? _Gone?_

"Che, he probably got sick," Ryoma tugged his cap down, hiding his own uncertainties; even Yuuta was devastated to bits. "N-no way," Oishi stuttered, searching Yukimura for some kind of mistake, or flaw! Instead, he decided to push the knife deeper. "Right when he opened the lockers and storage, he went pale and ran in; at least, that was what the freshmen said."

Yuuta gulped, no, this couldn't be happening. "Let me guess the cliché…he…he never came back?" Yukimura nodded, then Fuji touched his arm, completely neutral. "Thank you for your help, you better go back to Rikkai Dai, you _are _the captain after all." Although he knew it was a way to get him out of the situation, the blue-haired young man nodded again and left the gates of Seigaku, glancing a final look before he set off for good. On the other side, Oishi was fidgeting, not even bothering to calm down the Boys' Tennis Club. Ryoma was surprised he didn't scream like last night. "T-this can't be right," Kikumaru yelled to no one in particular. "Maybe he had to go home? It's nothing, isn't it?!"

Fuji proceeded calmly, "Don't worry everyone; we have to create something to evacuate the school and prevent other people from going in so we can start our search for the feather."

"Aniki, how the _hell_ are we doing that?!"

He took out his cell phone, a devious smile. "Niou-kun, of course."

--

While Fuji continued his conversation with Masaharu Niou, Ryoma edged away to join the tiny discussion between Kikumaru, Oishi, and Yuuta. Speaking a little louder to be heard over the frantic screams, Kikumaru crossed his arms. "Fuji is really composed in all of this panic-nya! I mean, _Tezuka _is missing!" Ryoma couldn't help but quietly agree, he would understand if Inui didn't lose his head, but the almost-unnoticeable relationship between Fuji and Tezuka was strong, he would at least _react _or something. Yuuta took a full minute analyzing his brother, then shook his head. "No, he's far from relaxed. Even though he may not show it, he's definitely worried."

Oishi furrowed his eyebrows, "Is it healthy for him to act like that?" Mother of Seigaku, as expected.

Yuuta sighed, "I don't know, as long as I've known, he's always been like that."

Kikumaru turned impatient and twitched. "This isn't good-nya, should we call Syaoran-kun and the others?"

"I don't think so, according to Nee-san, they should be our last resort. I overheard when they were talking with her that by bringing them over here, it'll most likely attract this 'Syaoran'." Yuuta explained, then indicated the tennis courts. "Shouldn't someone finally shut them up?"

Oishi snapped out of his worried gaze. "A-ah!" Kikumaru ran with him to calm the completely frantic members.

Ryoma, on the other hand, wasn't going to budge. He and Yuuta both waited until Fuji finally disconnected the call.

"Well, aniki?"

"He's got it all covered, he's still a little upset from the National Finals, but some convincing got him in."

"Ah."

"His plan should start right…now." Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"AARGH! THE SCHOOL IS FULL OF WATER!"

--

**Rikkai Dai Campus: 7:00 AM**

"_Seishun Gakuen is currently in knee-deep water, students and staff already occupying the building have evacuated. The Principal has announced that there will be no school. She also delays the investigation of the blown-up water pipe and fixing until tomorrow and encourages everyone that everything will be alright…"_

Sanada turned off the screen, there had been a lot of commotion about Seigaku's classes being cancelled today, but he wouldn't expect that the reason was _this_.

"Works of Niou?" Yukimura said it like a common phrase.

Yanagi nodded. "It's a good chance this is; also factoring that Niou is late to tennis practice, Seiichi."

"Maybe revenge on our former enemies?" Sanada growled, staring out the window from the office.

Yukimura knew this wasn't the case, maybe it had to do with all the odd events yesterday and today. "Genichirou, don't despise them so much." He cocked his head at Yanagi. "Where do you think Niou is now?"

"Since it is Niou, he could be anywhere."

"Shall we ask his partner then?"

Sanada was oblivious to the exchange between his two friends. He first caught some interest in a dead bug on the window sill, then his teammates were slacking.

While standing up, he accidentally pressed on the remote. The television flickered on. The fukubuchou left the room without even bothering to turn it off while Yanagi and Yukimura were still conversing, both ignoring the breaking news.

"_Two murder scenes have been known to be by the same person, both occurred last night around 9:15 PM. Japanese Police are unable to recognize who the suspects are, and no evidence was recovered. Both are also near a public school..."_

--

"Amazing," Kikumaru breathed. "He did it in less than five minutes…"

"That's Niou-kun for you," Oishi wiped his sweat off. "I'm surprised that he managed to convince the Principal into delaying the investigation."

"He says he has connections with the Principal's daughter," Fuji put the cellular back into his pocket. "Now, Echizen, can you fetch Taka-san and Inui, please? It's better to have more people searching for the feather."

Ryoma threw Fuji an uncanny look. "Inui-sempai won't believe the story, you know."

"He doesn't need to."

"Need to what, Fuji?" Inui appeared as if on cue, light reflecting mysteriously off his glasses ("What are you doing here, Yuuta-kun?" "J-just seeing how the members are doing…"). "I thought I heard someone say our names." Kawamura nodded quite timidly, wondering why everybody hasn't gone home yet.

"Ah, Inui, Taka-san, Echizen lost something important on the campus, and we're trying to find out." Ryoma did a long, heavy sigh, apparently, he was the victim, but he decided to play along anyways. "Yeah, it's in shape of a feather," he tried to remember the description from Syaoran last night. "It has pink markings on it."

Inui was itching for his book right now, but he put other matters first.

"Alright. Echizen, any clue where it is?"

The freshman thought about it, feeling the holes the sempais where drilling from their heated stares. "It could be anywhere."

The plan was decided, Yuuta and Ryoma were to search the first level of the school, Fuji and Kikumaru the second level, Oishi, Kawamura, and Inui would search outside.

"Ugh, I admit that Niou's trick was cool, but it makes it harder to search," Yuuta put one foot in front of the other, rolling up his jeans, they searched over shelves and quickly scanned the clear water until Ryoma thought of a better strategy. "Considering that the feather came here ever since Sakura (he noticed the name felt strange on his tongue, he wasn't used to first names) lost her 'memories'. It's been here for a few months. Since your sister was sure that it was still in Seigaku, that means no one has picked it up or noticed it yet, we should start looking in gaps or hard to see places." Yuuta beamed at the logic, and started their tactic. However, even through they hunted through every less obvious place, the feather was not to be found.

"Maybe, aniki or the others already found it, lets go back to the meeting place," Yuuta told Ryoma. He wasn't used to giving up, but there was nothing else they could do.

"Well?" Inui asked once they returned, they both shook their heads. Kawamura examined the fields again while Oishi looked under the benches…again. "We aren't having so much luck either," said Fuji. "I wonder if…?"

"Nya, what are you doing Fuji?"

He looked at the door of the locker room, the very area of Tezuka's 'disappearance'. "Inui, have you ever looked inside there?"

The dataman frowned. "No, Tezuka said he was going to unlock the door and he told everybody to run laps for a quick warm-up before we changed into our uniforms and get our rackets. By the time we finished, the door was still locked and Tezuka was gone. I just assumed that he left for an urgent matter and forgot to unlock the room for us."

Kawamura scratched his head, "Actually, the freshmen were standing near the locker rooms the whole time. We tried to ask them what happened to Tezuka, but they were panicking and kept attempting to open the door."

_Something's not right. _Oishi had a solemn expression plastered on his face. "Yukimura-san told us that from the Ichinen's point of view, Tezuka came in and never came out."

"What? But that's illlogic―"

Fuji sped his way over to the locker room, his teammates following closely behind him. He turned the knob slowly ("But how?!" Kawamura stuttered, "It was locked before!") and opened.

There was the feather in the middle and a note:

_**Too late, your Captain is mine. Let's play a game, shall we?**_

_--_

"Aniki."

"Fuji-sempai," Ryoma said in a dangerously low tone. "This isn't 'Syaoran'. This guy isn't going around like a mindless murderer." _This isn't right, this is illogical, _Inui's mouth hung open, the notebook he had preciously taken care of dropped to the floor with a hollow _thud. _"Fuji, explain to me," his voice was fierce, but wavering. "What is going on?" The air in the room suddenly felt cold, the silence was painful, and Inui's words woke everyone up. It was then Fuji, still quiet, turned on his heel, back against his teammates, hand clenched around the paper, the other holding the feather. Kawamura stepped back, trembling. "What are you guys talking about?" Oishi stared at his confused teammates guiltily, but still made his words firm. "I'm sorry, Taka-san, Inui, but this isn't the time to be talking."

"You're right," Fuji's voice was lined with ice. "This isn't him, it's could be someone worse. We have to get out of here. Now."

"Oishi, I'm scared-nya!"

"Wait, Aniki!" Yuuta managed to yell out. "About Tezu―!"

"Let's go."

"_Aniki!" _he said for the third time. Oishi was also laced with anxiety, unconsciously putting a comforting arm around Kikumaru. "Fuji…don't run away from what you want."

Fuji closed his eyes, face hidden. "Oishi, seven lives are more important than one." He dashed out the door.

--

He didn't like it, but the tennis player's life unpredictably had gotten worse.

Ryoma could feel someone breathe on his skin, hot air tingling on the back of his neck. Someone was watching them, whoever he or she was, it had them all on fragile puppet strings, Ryoma absently noticed. _They had planned it all._ The seven Seigaku members were running; Oishi fumbled with his cell phone trying to contact the others, the panting of Kawamura, vulnerable without his racket. But, Ryoma couldn't keep glancing at Fuji, who was quiet. He knew that his sempai noticed they were being followed, not once did he look back however. "Nya! There's the school gate!" Kikumaru shouted with glee. For once, the corners of Ryoma's mouth tugged upwards, if they could make it to Fuji's house, then they'll be okay.

'_**Oh no you don't, prey should be kept in cages.'**_

Yuuta snapped his head around, pausing with the others, his sweat clinging to his skin. He took a few deep breaths before shouting, "Who are you?!"

'_**I guess I should play with my toys for a while.'**_

'**Careful, don't break them.'**

A female's voice? Everyone exchanged glances, were they up to two enemies?

'_**Don't worry, toys are still fun when broken.'**_

"O'chibi! Watch out!" Kikumaru threw a strangled cry, pointing behind the freshman with his legs unable to move. A black shadow shot out from nowhere, and grasped around the Ryoma's ankle.

"_O'chibi!"_

"Echizen!"

--

Niou grimaced at the thought of running laps. Of course, he was late for, ahem, _a good cause, _but the sight of fukubuchou not at his happiest mood did not brighten up the trickster. If only Yagyuu was here to support him… He frowned, no, he doesn't need Yagyuu's help to get out of this mess he was going to be in. Then again, Fuji Syuusuke's tone during the phone call sounded urgent, and that doesn't sprinkle up his day either. He absently walked, only waking up to hear frantic voices.

"This isn't good, Kurogane, we can't get in."

"I noticed that _a while ago_. Where is missy and the kid?"

"She's with Yumiko and Syaoran-kun is finding another way to get in, but we have to help Fuji-kun and the others fast."

Niou's sensitive ears picked up 'help' and 'Fuji'. He turned to see two men trying to get into Seigaku.

"What are you, cosplayers? Just get through the gate, it isn't going to bite you," Niou slurred, hands in his pockets. The two didn't look happy, and one was especially irritated.

"Oi, who do you think you are? Just go away," the big and bulky one growled with a threatening glare. The smaller man merely ignored his partner's anger and approached Niou.

"Are you by any chance very good friends of Seigaku?"

Niou thought about this, if rivals who hate each other to the death are considered as 'very good friends' then, "Yes," the white-haired tennis player answered, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"I need you to go to this woman's house," Fai sketched a flimsy picture of a map. "You won't see it as first, but its there." He hesitated, then fetched in the necklace that Yumiko told them to use in dire situations. "Give this to her for payment, and ask her for 'help'. Hurry, because Fuji-kun and the others won't last very long."

The unusual pair ran off around the gates of Seishun Gakuen after a small _"Kurogane, Fai! There's a crack here, we can get in!" _, leaving the Rikkaidai student alone and confused.

"What the hell was that?" Niou blinked, stared at the necklace, then back up to the now empty space the two previously occupied. He was considering selling the necklace, but he went the opposite direction to the 'woman' they had mentioned. Number one of his reasons, he knew exactly where the place is and the woman that lived in it (she always introduced him to funny trinkets). Second, he wasn't a big softie, but he was…ahem, _curious _of the young man's last words:

---

"_Hurry, because Fuji-kun and the others won't last very long."_

---

Just what kind of trouble did the Seigaku members get themselves in? Niou didn't know, but what he did know was that whatever the tennis club was in, it was a lot more trouble than what Niou himself ever made.

--

Ryoma gasped, the touch clogged his brain, his leg was burning as if doused on fire. The pain was unbearable, melting his skin as he felt needles punctured every inch of his body. Acid blistered his ankle; it was worse then Kirihara's injury with ten times more power. He couldn't take this anymore as his mind screamed, writhing under this horrible throbbing…

Kawamura snatched his hand and pulled, sure enough, the shadow gave up and easily set him free, they both fell back and hit a tree trunk. The power player shook the first year's shoulders. "_Echizen!" _He bleakly opened his eyes, fogged by his fatigue; Kikumaru and Oishi were bending over, eyebrows knitted with worry. "Are you alright nya?"

There was a noticeable burn mark on his right leg and he winced and cursed inside, he never felt so helpless before. "Y-yeah," he muttered, attempting to hide his shivering.

"Damn," Yuuta bit his lip. "What the hell was that?!"

"Fuji, we can't get out of here. There's a barrier…!" Inui bellowed; he reached out to touch the solid transparent-like dome. An electric shock ran up his arm from a single touch. "Ah!" He pulled back quickly, holding his hand protectively.

"I-Inui?"

"There's no path to run, we're stuck," Inui tightened his fist. "Chances of surviving…"

"Shut up Inui!" Yuuta yelled, grabbing the dataman by the jersey collar. "I don't friggin' care about chances!"

"Yuuta, calm down," Oishi said pleadingly, standing up from his position.

He cracked. "_CALM DOWN?! _We are going to DIE!" Oh how he would of gave anything to be back at the dorms in St. Rudolph, paying no attention to with Yanagisawa's 'dane's and talking to Mizuki once in a while. "_Don't you care anything about our lives?_!"

'_**Mmm… I like that feisty one.'**_

"Yuuta," Fuji was not at the slightest smiling. His brother compressed his yelling and continued to bite on his lip. Fuji helped Ryoma up, having him lean on his shoulder. Unexpectedly, another shadow stalked its victim, Yuuta. He sidestepped, twisting and turning, dodging the quick grabs franticly, it scraped his cheek, leaving a painful mark. "It's like a heated blade," he hissed, cupping his tiny wound. "It's too fast!" The same shadow slowly grew into a 3-D figure, hovering above their heads like a suspended guillotine. "Oh no," Oishi widened his eyes.

"_Get down!" _A familiar voice. "**Raitai Shourai**!"

A streak of lightning shook the ground; the shadow shrunk to nothing and receded. Ryoma smiled faintly, "Took you long enough."

Syaoran let his arm fall to the side, his expression grim. Fai and Kurogane went through the made crack in the barrier, the damage healed itself after they were both in. "Do you know how to fight?"

Inui gaped at the recent attack, glasses almost off the bride of his nose. "Th-that was impossi―, no. After what _that _happened, nothing seems realistic anymore." Everyone ignored Inui's mutterings. "Fight? ...No," said Oishi, relaxing at the arrival of their saviors. "Why do you need us to fight?" "Because―" another assault came from the mysterious enemy, a black arm reached out towards Syaoran. He cut off his sentence and swiftly rotated, he did a clean swipe through the shadow and it was gone in a flash. "―I'm not guaranteeing that we will be there to guard you all the time."

Fai held seven orbs, each one transparent and glowing. "We got this from Yuuko-san, she says it always comes back to you after you use it. However, I don't know how to use it, but maybe you…" Ryoma trotted over, limping on one leg and snatched one of them. Weighing it in his hand, he smirked, "Of course, its tennis." Kikumaru pouted, "Nya, o'chibi, don't compare tennis to fighting!" But after he yelped and narrowly escaped the shadow's clutches, the acrobatics player quickly changed his mind. "Okay, okay, hurry up and give me one!"

"Where do we get rackets?" Oishi asked apprehensively, gently handling his orb like a bomb ready to explode.

Inui grabbed a few rackets and threw them to everyone. "Everyone, hurry. It's going to attack again."

"Alright," Ryoma held the racket on his right hand, readying himself. "…let's…" He jumped. "_Do this!"_

"Twist serve!" Yuuta gasped, the light-emitting sphere spun past the approaching black figures.

"You missed!"

"No," Fuji breathed, the ball went straight to another shape that no one else noticed before on the top of the roof, but before it hit him, the unknown person caught it in his hand.

'_**Hm, dangerous, dangerous. That could've hurt if that hit my face.'**_

In a split second, he moved right in front of them. _"Yo," _a snake-like tongue slithered out of his mouth, his red hair was tussled and a long, thin, tail whipped out from behind, his eyes were narrow and piercing. _"Aren't you all adorable, this is going to be fun. I'm October, by the way…" _He wore a long tattered, thin gray coat.

---

_Almost suddenly, there was a cloaked person flash right behind them… _

---

"You," Ryoma said sourly and twirled the racket around his wrist. October smiled in amusement, _"Ah, you remember me? I'm flattered. You know, I showed myself to you on purpose…" _Kurogane snarled, "Enough about that! What do you have to do with the feather and 'Syaoran'?" At that word, Fuji immediately reached for the engraved feather in his pocket, he still had it.

"_Oh, that? Just a little bait, I have no interest in tiny things. Also," _he sneered. _"I never heard of a 'Syaoran' before."_

"Let's get straight to the point," Yuuta snapped. "Where's the other one? The girl?"

October licked his lips, hands folded across his chest. _"Not a girl, and 'it'. Show yourself, June."_

The shadows stopped moving and intertwined with each other, forming one hidden person. The image of her was distorted. **"Yes? I was enjoying myself." **She looked at the disheveled teammates. **"Oh look at them, they resemble so much like each other. I wonder if they make the same reactions?" **Her voice was like sandpaper, and Kikumaru shivered at the scratchy sound. Fai stepped up, long, pointy nails sprouting from his hand, his eye suddenly more venomous. "We don't know what you are talking about, but if you do not leave us alone and drop the barrier, both of you will die."

"_A vampire, nostalgic. However, I'm sorry I cannot meet your wish. June."_

"**Yes, October, let's start."**

Syaoran ran up and attacked the indistinct appearance of June with his sword, she disappeared.

"_Oh," _a wide smile on the snake-like human, _"I forgot to tell you something." _A single snap of his fingers. The sound was abrupt, dark flames flared up from the ground beside him, there sitting was a human. Blood running down the side of his face and glasses beyond repair. His jacket was in shreds and his jersey stained of burgundy liquid. He was almost unrecognizable.

"_Let's play a game, with him as the bet."_

Ryoma was staring at the view, golden eyes broadened, the sweat was unexpectedly cold against his skin. He slowly opened his mouth, and his voice came out weak.

"Buchou."

--

Only Fuji's teammates and his family ever saw him furious, thrilled, or utterly serious. Once when protecting Yuuta, the game with Mizuki, the unfinished rankings match with Ryoma in the rain, another at the match with Kirihara after he realized that he had hurt Ryoma's knee, a rare chance when Fuji was losing five games to love against Shiraishi at 40-0, and the adrenaline in the National Finals. All events had been real, and all of the matches were breathtaking to watch. Many say after his remark ("Saa, maybe I just like watching you suffer.") that inside, he is extremely sadistic and they inch away from him at all times. Others think that he is a prodigy, and never really tries in anything. Yes, only the ones who watched him knew. Fuji was tremendously protective of his friends and family.

His eyes were open all the way, the glare was frightening.

"TEZUKA!"

"Oh my God."

"What have you _done _to him?!"

Syaoran was speechless, then flashed an angry look at October. "Is this what you do? Do you torture people for fun?!" He shrugged his shoulders, still grinning._ "Maa, don't look at me like that, I do what I do."_

If Fuji held onto the orb any tighter, it could've shattered. "People like you cannot be forgiven," his tone was deadly, but still leveled. "Triple Counter…" Everyone impulsively turned towards the melodic voice, shocked. "Fuji, you aren't going to―?" A sudden sweep of wind brushed through fallen leaves as he twisted his entire body, blue eyes glowed. "_Kagerou Zutsumi_."

The ball flew in a horizontal circular motion, October stumbled back, vision unable to catch where the ball was, it smacked right into his face and he screamed, June rushed to his side immediately. Still clutching his face, he chuckled, _"Interesting, very. This is why I sought to find all of you. It took you long enough to realize I existed, I had two murders set up…"_

Oishi lost any feeling in his legs. "You didn't…those innocent people…"

"What, Oishi, what?!"

"Two people were murdered last night, near this school," the color was drained out of his face. "Their heads were chopped off."

Kawamura was enraged, gripping on his racket firm. "BURNING! _Damn you monster_, you should die for what you did! _Hadokyuu_!"

October grabbed June and moved out of the flaming path. He hurriedly moved Tezuka away to the top of the roof before anybody could get him. _"A bit of a challenge, ne? Go June."_

"**Yes."**

Kurogane leered, "Great, now all we do is to kill you off."

"_I suggest you shouldn't go after me, unless you want to leave your poor princess in our hands."_

Syaoran jerked forward, letting his sword down. "Sakura?!" Fai already sprinted ahead towards June and Syaoran and Kurogane followed close behind him. Before they were out of the Seigaku Regular's sight, Syaoran looked back. "Can you protect yourselves? Once we go back out, we can't go back in." Yuuta nodded, "We're going to be alright, go on ahead."

"_It's surprising that you say that so calmly," _October brushed the dust off his clothes, the blood on his face dry. _"If I were you, I would run." _Ryoma had his racket ready, bending down low. Kikumaru smiled, sensing what he was going to do, "You chose the worst bunch to pick on, if _I_ were you, _I would run_, for all the actions you did, to Tezuka, to everybody!"

"_Confident, aren't we?"_

Ryoma paid no heed to any external sound,

"_Cool Drive_."

--

Yumiko had let Sakura go outside without putting up much of a fight.

She wandered outside along the sidewalk near Seishun Gakuen, it was at least twenty minutes ago that Fai, Syaoran, and Kurogane left after they received the orbs from Yuuko. The breeze felt good through her hair, she didn't forget the dream with Fuji Syuusuke. She admired his determination, if only she wasn't confused… "No," she said aloud. "I know what I'm doing, I'm trying to change the future for Syaoran's and Fai's sake." But when she said that, her voice was hollow. She was cut off from the rest of the group, they were real, she was…not. Sakura felt envious, she hated herself for not being the person she was supposed to be. The 'other her' was sweet, quiet, had luck. She wasn't 'her', she was different, Sakura had known that for a long time, and she knew that Fai had realized that from the beginning.

"**Hello, lovely."**

She did not hesitate or falter as she turned. "Who are you?"

"**I can see what October meant by 'Princess'. Let's see if your princes chase after you, shall we?"**

_Princes…Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane?!_

As the hazy cloaked shadow grasped her arm, Sakura sagged under the pain that shot up her bones. June cast a barrier around her lithe body, turning around to meet the three boys.

"SAKURA!"

--

The ball bounced and fiercely curved upward. October caught it again, but the sphere violently vibrated and twisted until it became out of his grip and buzzed right beside his ear. _"Scary, that was a hell lot better than the 'Twist Serve' in the beginning," _he complimented, his fork tongue licking off the blood on the side of his cheek. _"You guys are serious."_

"Give back Tezuka," Inui warned. "Or suffer the consequences."

"We'll beat these jerks, aniki," Yuuta reassured Fuji who merely looked ahead. "Of course," the edge of his voice stung.

October took off his gray coat, revealing a black tank top and well defined muscles. _"I'm a lot harder than June, you know, you should be careful." _A long, thin sword was produced out of thin air. He attacked first. Kikumaru cart wheeled out of the way and hit a smash at the leg of October, he was gone by the time the ball hit the ground and came behind the acrobatics player.

"Nya?!"

The hilt of his sword almost came smashing down on the back of Kikumaru's head when he was still in the air, but Oishi seized the acrobatic before it made any contact, the Golden Pair tumbled backwards back on the hard floor. Kawamura charged at the now defenseless enemy, holding the racket like a dagger. "Hadokyuu!" The serve was powerful and heavy, it speeded its way like a dangerous bullet. They were glad that October wasn't moving from his spot, then they were terrified that he was _smiling._

He stretched his arms out, shadows hiding his face._ "Let's see how you'll like this." _A swirl of energy made Ryoma sick and brought everyone down to their knees, bound by an invisible force.

An angry flash of white exploded in front of their eyes, then, there was screaming.

--

Kurogane slashed at June, burns already forming up his arms. They had been only fighting her for around five minutes, but it had been a heated battle. Syaoran yelps from the sudden contact of June's fiery grip while Fai is on his knees, waiting painfully for his wounds to heal.

Sakura merely watches.

---

_Falling…_

Why am I not doing anything?

_Falling, I'm falling…_

They're getting hurt. My legs won't move.

_Is this how it feels? To do nothing?_

Why does my chest hurt so much? Why am I alone?

_Falling alone… is painful, isn't it?_

'Syaoran'…

_You cannot shake the past away, but you have friends here to help you carry that past._

Then…

---

Syaoran took a deep breath, ignoring the raw mark on his ankle. "You okay, kid?" Kurogane mutters, in a fallen stance.

"Yes."

Fai managed to smile. "This isn't good, she's faster than I expected. Do you think Ryoma-kun and the others will be okay?" Kurogane did not attempt to bring out any hopes. "No, but we have our hands full to help them." He dug his sword to the ground to support his weight. "I don't think we'll be okay either." Syaoran then steadily stood up, slightly swaying. "**Raitai Shourai!**"

June banished the lightning and dashed up towards the shaken Syaoran. **"Pity, it was fun." **She grabbed his neck with white, bony fingers.

He took a quick, surprised breath as he felt his skin smoldering under the cursed touch. The flame she produced ate away his insides, scorching like hot iron pressed against his neck. "Syaoran-kun!" Fai shouted, which seemed muffled in the burning heat of Syaoran's mind. He submitted to her grasp, limp.

"Syaoran!"

After the loud shatter, June immediately let go of her grip as Syaoran collapsed onto the ground. Fai stared in shock at the disappearing barrier as their enemy falls to the floor, body turning to ash. "Sakura…" The mentioned still held up her gun, smoke untangling from the end of the barrel. Tears flowing freely down her strained green eyes. She finally dropped, gasping out,

"I…I..."

--

"OISHI!" A distressed cry brought Ryoma back to life, the soreness in his leg felt worse, and all parts of his body ached. What just happened?

"_OISHI!_ Wake up!"

Ryoma dragged himself over to the sound, why was everything so dark? Did he turn blind? "Kikumaru-sempai…" he croaked. "Where are you?" He only heard the uncontrolled sobbing on his right.

"O-o'chibi…"

"Kikumaru-sempai, can you see anything?"

"N-no, but I feel b-blood around me."

"Blood?"

"The last thing I r-remember was Oishi being right next to me, but now he's quiet and won't talk!"

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" He felt himself panicking; heart racing to the same speed Kikumaru's panting breaths made.

"I'm perfectly fine! _Oishi's hurt_, o'chibi! And he isn't waking u-up-nya!" Kikumaru bawled again, clutching to the motionless body right next to him.

"_How touching."_

Ryoma jerked his head left and right. "Come out!" he scowled. "Where are the others, _October!"_

A cruel laugh echoed in their minds.

"AARGH!" Yuuta's yell sent a painful message to his ears. It was dead silent after that.

Kikumaru whimpered, "Y-Yuuta-kun. He got him too. What if Fuji and the others are…?"

"_Please, _Kikumaru-sempai!" Worrying about the others wasn't going to magically make them okay. They had to get out of this dark abyss, fast!

"Ah!" A yelp of surprise, the sobbing stopped. Everything was eerily quiet.

"Kikumaru-sempai?" Ryoma said cautiously. A cold, clammy hand touched the back of his neck, he flinched.

"October…" Ryoma hissed warningly, yet frigid.

"_Game over, little boy, it was nice playing with you."_

"GYAAAAAAHH!"

--

Fai and Kurogane ran towards Seishun Gakuen once again, hoping that their companions were still alive…

"Oi!" The same white-haired boy sprinted towards them, holding up something in his hand. He halted in his tracks, curiously looking at Fai and Kurogane's recent wounds. "Whoa, got in a fight?" Fai gave a strained smile, "Somewhat, did Yuuko-san gave that to you?" He nodded, almost sickened by the obedience he was giving them.

---

"_What do I do with this?" Niou asked, tenderly holding a tiny orb with more care than needed._

_Her eyes glistened._

---

"You throw it."

--

Fuji moaned, then woke up abruptly. Blackness still met his eyes, but he knew this wasn't a dream by the hard, frozen ground that lay beneath him and the sound of his own breaths. "Taka-san? Eiji? Yuuta?" No answer. It seemed the only one alive was himself. A swift gust of wind swept by him quick, leaving an icy mark on his arm. The stinging faded away, but the alertness that filled him became stronger. "October, stop this at once and give back my teammates."

"_Hm, you're the only one left."_

"What did you do with them?" Fuji's tone was solid and direct.

"_Just piling up the hostages, dear boy. More risks mean more fun."_

A dash of pain shot up his arm, and he ignored it.

"_Sturdy, aren't you?" _More flashes of pain appeared around his body, but Fuji again managed to take no mind of it. The others probably were bearing worse then he did; the image of Tezuka lifeless made him shudder quietly.

"_Can't take it anymore?" _He had to keep conscious until Fai or Kurogane came to help them. He had to keep conscious…

A loud shatter, then his whole world turned white.

--

Fuji blinked a few times, trying to clear the foggy scene held before him. Stiff bandages wrapped tightly around his head, the smell of incense burned his nose. It took a few attempts to figure out what was going on to remember everything that's happened…

"Yuuta, Tezuka―!"

He immediately sat up, quickly regretting the hasty action from the throbbing discomfort in his temple.

"You shouldn't move," someone said quietly. Fuji turned his head to the right, seeing an older boy in a school uniform, his hair combed and glasses neatly put on the bridge of his nose. "Don't worry about everybody else, they're all right. You're the last one to wake up."

"Sakura and the others?" Fuji asked with the same patience, noticing he was in Yuuko's shop. "And also the price for taking care of us?"

The mysterious boy set down tea and brushed the dust off his apron. "The price is taken care of. They all left…this world. And," he meekly smiled. "There's a boy with sliver hair in a yellow uniform waiting outside for an explanation." As soon as the boy left, Kikumaru filled in his absence. "Fujiko!" the lively Seigaku acrobatics player shouted in his ear. "You're all right! Oishi's well enough to move, Yuuta is okay, and the others are improving! Oh and did you know Niou helped us?! He went to Yuuko-san's house and―" Kikumaru's voice was easy to drone out.

"_Now _you're awake, Fuji-sempai? Mada mada dane."

"Aniki! Are you feeling okay?!"

"Maa, Eiji, please be a little quieter for Fuji…"

"_Burning_! Let's get out of bed, Fujiko!"

"43 percent chance that you would be the last to wake up."

Everyone's talking all at once, it's noisy, and Yuuko from the next room drunkenly yells for everyone to shut up. But it's okay. Everyone's alright.

Fuji smiles. Genuinely.

--

_I'm falling down and down, but I'm not alone._

_--_

-end-


End file.
